COLORADO CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE VI
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
Art. VI §1 | VESTMENT OF JUDICIAL POWER
Art. VI §2 | APPELLATE JURISDICTION
(2) Appellate review by the supreme court of every final judgment of the district courts, the probate court of the city and county of Denver, and the juvenile court of the city and county of Denver shall be allowed, and the supreme court shall have such other appellate review as may be provided by law. There shall be no appellate review by the district court of any final judgment of the probate court of the city and county of Denver or of the juvenile court of the city and county of Denver.
Art. VI §3 | ORIGINAL JURISDICTION - OPINIONS
Art. VI §4 | TERMS
Art. VI §5 | PERSONNEL OF COURT - DEPARTMENTS - CHIEF JUSTICE
(2) The supreme court shall select a chief justice from its own membership to serve at the pleasure of a majority of the court, who shall be the executive head of the judicial system.
(3) The supreme court shall appoint a court administrator and such other personnel as the court may deem necessary to aid the administration of the courts. Whenever the chief justice deems assignment of a judge necessary to the prompt disposition of judicial business, he may:
(b) assign any district, probate, or juvenile judge, or retired justice or district, probate, or juvenile judge who consents, temporarily to perform judicial duties in any court. For each day of such temporary service a retired justice or judge shall receive compensation in an amount equal to 1/20 of the monthly salary then currently applicable to the judicial position in which the temporary service is rendered.
Art. VI §6 | ELECTION OF JUDGES. (REPEALED)
Art. VI §7 | TERM OF OFFICE
Art. VI §8 | QUALIFICATIONS OF JUSTICES
Art. VI §9 | DISTRICT COURTS - JURISDICTION
(2) Effective the second Tuesday in January, 1965, all causes pending before the county court in each county, except those causes within the jurisdiction of the county court as provided by law, and except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, shall then be transferred to and pending in the district court of such county, and no bond or obligation given in any of said causes shall be affected by said transfer.
(3) In the city and county of Denver, exclusive original jurisdiction in all matters of probate, settlements of estates of deceased persons, appointment of guardians, conservators and administrators, and settlement of their accounts, the adjudication of the mentally ill, and such other jurisdiction as may be provided by law shall be vested in a probate court, created by section 1 of this article, and to which court all of such jurisdiction of the county court of the city and county of Denver shall be transferred, including all pending cases and matters, effective on the second Tuesday of January, 1965.
Art. VI §10 | JUDICIAL DISTRICTS - DISTRICT JUDGES
Art. VI §11 | QUALIFICATIONS OF DISTRICT JUDGES
Art. VI §12 | TERMS OF COURT
Art. VI §13 | DISTRICT ATTORNEYS - ELECTION - TERM - SALARY - QUALIFICATIONS
Art. VI §14 | PROBATE COURT - JURISDICTION - JUDGES - ELECTION - TERM - QUALIFICATIONS
Art. VI §15 | JUVENILE COURT - JURISDICTION - JUDGES - ELECTION - TERM - QUALIFICATIONS
Art. VI §16 | COUNTY JUDGES - TERMS - QUALIFICATIONS
Art. VI §17 | COUNTY COURTS - JURISDICTION - APPEALS
Art. VI §18 | COMPENSATION AND SERVICES
Art. VI §19 | LAWS RELATING TO COURTS - UNIFORM
Art. VI §20 | VACANCIES
(2) All justices and judges of courts of record holding office on the effective date of this constitutional amendment shall continue in office for the remainder of the respective terms for which they were elected or appointed. Retention in office thereafter shall be by election as prescribed in section 25.
(3) Other vacancies occurring in judicial offices shall be filled as now or hereafter provided by law.
(4) Vacancies occurring in the office of district attorney shall be filled by appointment of the governor. District attorneys appointed under the provisions of this section shall hold office until the next general election and until their successors elected thereat shall be duly qualified. Such successors shall be elected for the remainder of the unexpired term in which the vacancy was created.
Art. VI §21 | RULE-MAKING POWER
Art. VI §22 | PROCESS - PROSECUTION - IN NAME OF PEOPLE
Art. VI §23 | RETIREMENT AND REMOVAL OF JUSTICES AND JUDGES
(2) Whenever a justice or judge of any court of this state has been convicted in any court of this state or of the United States or of any state, of a felony or other offense involving moral turpitude, the supreme court shall, of its own motion or upon petition filed by any person, and upon finding that such a conviction was had, enter its order suspending said justice or judge from office until such time as said judgment of conviction becomes final, and the payment of salary of said justice or judge shall also be suspended from the date of such order. If said judgment of conviction becomes final, the supreme court shall enter its order removing said justice or judge from office and declaring his office vacant and his right to salary shall cease from the date of the order of suspension. If said judgment of conviction is reversed with directions to enter a judgment of acquittal or if reversed for a new trial which subsequently results in a judgment of dismissal or acquittal, the supreme court shall enter its order terminating the suspension of said justice or judge and said justice or judge shall be entitled to his salary for the period of suspension. A plea of guilty or nolo contendere to such a charge shall be equivalent to a final conviction for the purpose of this section.
(3)
(b) Each member shall be appointed to a four-year term; except that onehalf of the initial membership in each category shall be appointed to twoyear terms, for the purpose of staggering terms. Whenever a commission membership prematurely terminates or a member no longer possesses the specific qualifications for the category from which he was selected, his position shall be deemed vacant, and his successor shall be appointed in the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of his term. A member shall be deemed to have resigned if that member is absent from three consecutive commission meetings without the commission having entered an approval for additional absences upon its minutes. If any member of the commission is disqualified to act in any matter pending before the commission, the commission may appoint a special member to sit on the commission solely for the purpose of deciding that matter.
(c) No member of the commission shall receive any compensation for his services but shall be allowed his necessary expenses for travel, board, and lodging and any other expenses incurred in the performance of his duties, to be paid by the supreme court from its budget to be appropriated by the general assembly.
(c.5)
(II) Upon order of a formal hearing pursuant to subsection (3)(e) of this section, a panel of the adjudicative board shall convene to conduct the hearing. A panel consists of one judge, one attorney licensed to practice law in Colorado, and one citizen. The state court administrator, or the administrator's designee, shall randomly select the panel from among the adjudicative board's membership. The random selection of a panel is a purely administrative function.
(e)
(II) After a formal hearing the adjudicative panel may dismiss the charges before it; take informal remedial action, or order the removal, retirement, suspension, censure, reprimand, or other discipline, as the case may be, of the justice or judge. The adjudicative panel may also order that the costs of the investigation and hearing be assessed against such justice or judge. The justice or judge may appeal an adjudicative panel's disciplinary order, and the commission may appeal an adjudicative panel's dismissal or disciplinary order, to the Supreme Court, or, when the circumstances described in subsection (3)(f)(II) are present, to the tribunal described in subsection (3)(f)(II) of this section. The respondent justice or judge may appeal the commission's order for the informal remedial action to a panel of the adjudicative board. The adjudicative panel shall review the commission's informal remedial action order for abuse of discretion. An appeal of an informal remedial action order is confidential consistent with subsection (3)(g) of this section.
(II) In proceedings in which the circumstances described in this subsection (3)(f)(II) are present, a tribunal comprised of seven judges of the court of appeals and district court shall review the decision of the adjudicative panel or hear any other appeal in the same manner and use the same standards of review as the supreme court when it reviews decisions and hears appeals as described in subsection (3)(f)(I) of this section. The state court administrator, or the administrator's designee, shall randomly select members of the tribunal from among all district judges and court of appeals judges who do not have a current disciplinary investigation or proceeding pending before the commission or adjudicative board; have not received a disciplinary sanction from the commission, adjudicative board, or supreme court; and are not other wise required by law, court rule, or judicial canon to recuse themselves from the tribunal. A tribunal must not include more than one member who is a court of appeals judge and not more than one district judge from any one judicial district. The random selection of tribunal members is a purely administrative function. The tribunal shall review decisions and hear any other appeals in the following circumstances:
(B) When a Colorado Supreme Court Justice is a complainant Or a material witness in the proceeding;
(C) When a staff member to a Colorado Supreme Court Justice is a complainant or material witness in the proceeding;
(D) When a family member of a Colorado Supreme Court Justice is a complainant or material witness in the proceeding; or
(E) When any other circumstances exist due to which more than two Colorado Supreme Court Justices have recused themselves from the proceeding.
(IV) Upon an order for retirement, the justice or judge is tetired with the same rights and privileges as if the justice or judge retired pursuant to statute. Upon an order for removal, the justice or judge is removed from office and the justice's or judge's salary ceases from the date of the order. On the entry of an order for retirement or for removal of a justice or judge, the justice's or judge's office is deemed vacant.
(II) Notwithstanding the confidentiality requirement described in this subsection (3)(g), the commission may:
(B) Release information about a complaint that resulted in informal remedial action or public discipline of a judge or justice to the state court administrator as necessary for the selection of a tribunal pursuant to subsection (3)f)(li) of this section; any relevant commission on judicial performance or judicial nominating commission, the office of attorney regulation counsel, and the office of the presiding disciplinary judge, or successors to each commission or office; the office of the governor, for the purpose of judicial appointments; the judicial department, for the purpose of reviewing applicants for the senior judge program and appointments to the adjudicative board pursuant to subsection (3)(c.5)(1) of this section; and other limited recipients consistent with the purposes of this section allowed by rule; and
(C) Make publicly available aggregate information about trends or patterns in complaints made to the commission, but the commission shall not make public any information that identifies any specific person or complaint.
(IV) the general assembly may provide by law for confidential reporting and complainant rights consistent with subsection (3)(g)(il) of this section.
(i) Nothing contained in this subsection (3) shall be construed to have any effect on article XIII of this constitution.
(j) Repealed.
(k)
(II) The rule-making committee may promulgate specific rules governing proceedings before a panel of the adjudicative board. the Colorado rules of evidence and colorado rules of civil procedure, as amended, apply to proceedings before a panel of the adjudicative board until and unless the rule-making committee promulgates rules governing panel proceedings. rules promulgated pursuant to this subsection (3)(k)(il) apply to formal proceedings initiated on or after April 1, 2025.
Art. VI §24 | JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSIONS
(2) The supreme court nominating commission shall consist of the chief justice or acting chief justice of the supreme court, ex officio, who shall act as chairman and shall have no vote, one citizen admitted to practice law before the courts of this state and one other citizen not admitted to practice law in the courts of this state residing in each congressional district in the state, and one additional citizen not admitted to practice law in the courts of this state. No more than onehalf of the commission members plus one, exclusive of the chief justice, shall be members of the same political party. Three voting members shall serve until December 31, 1967, three until December 31, 1969, and three until December 31, 1971. Thereafter each voting member appointed shall serve until the 31st of December of the 6th year following the date of his appointment.
(3) Each judicial district nominating commission shall consist of a justice of the supreme court designated by the chief justice, to serve at the will of the chief justice who shall act as chairman ex officio, and shall have no vote, and seven citizens residing in that judicial district, no more than four of whom shall be members of the same political party and there shall be at least one voting member from each county in the district. In all judicial districts having a population of more than 35,000 inhabitants as determined by the last preceding census taken under the authority of the United States, the voting members shall consist of three persons admitted to practice law in the courts of this state and four persons not admitted to practice law in the courts of this state. In judicial districts having a population of 35,000 inhabitants or less as determined above, at least four voting members shall be persons not admitted to practice law in the courts of this state; and it shall be determined by majority vote of the governor, the attorney general and the chief justice, how many, if any, of the remaining three members shall be persons admitted to practice law in the courts of this state. Two voting members shall serve until December 31, 1967, two until December 31, 1969, and three until December 31, 1971. Thereafter each voting member appointed shall serve until the 31st of December of the 6th year following the date of his appointment.
(4) Members of each judicial nominating commission selected by reason of their being citizens admitted to practice law in the courts of this state shall be appointed by majority action of the governor, the attorney general and the chief justice. All other members shall be appointed by the governor. No voting member of a judicial nominating commission shall hold any elective and salaried United States or state public office or any elective political party office and he shall not be eligible for reappointment to succeed himself on a commission. No voting member of the supreme court nominating commission shall be eligible for appointment as a justice of the supreme court or any intermediate appellate court so long as he is a member of that commission and for a period of three years thereafter; and no voting member of a judicial district nominating commission shall be eligible for appointment to judicial office in that district while a member of that commission and for a period of one year thereafter.
Art. VI §25 | ELECTION OF JUSTICES AND JUDGES
"Shall Justice (Judge) .... of the Supreme (or other) Court be retained in office? YES/..../NO/..../." If a majority of those voting on the question vote "Yes," the justice or judge is thereupon elected to a succeeding full term. If a majority of those voting on the question vote "No," this will cause a vacancy to exist in that office at the end of his then present term of office.In the case of a justice of the supreme court or any intermediate appellate court, the electors of the state at large; in the case of a judge of a district court, the electors of that judicial district; and in the case of a judge of the county court or other court of record, the electors of that county; shall vote on the question of retention in office of the justice or judge.
Art. VI §26 | DENVER COUNTY JUDGES
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- State Agency Self-Discrimination
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